PB-14 - Vital Pulp Therapy - Past, Present, and Future; More Than Just a Material!

Friday, April 19, 2024

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM PT

Location: 408 B

Earn 1.5 CE Credits

Speaker(s)

Ronald R. Lemon, Asso Dean, Adv Ed

Director of Predoctoral Endodontics
UNLV, School of Dental Medicine
Las Vegas, Nevada

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Ove A. Peters, D.M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc. (he/him/his)

Endodontics Discipline Lead
University of Queensland
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Disclosure(s): Dentsply Sirona: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing), Speaker/Honoraria (includes speakers bureau, symposia, and expert witness) (Ongoing)

Handouts

Session Host(s)

Michael Shapiro, DMD, MS Diplomate, ABE (he/him/his)

Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Michigan
Farmington Hills, Michigan

Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose

From GV Black and forward, every generation of dentists describes their methods and philosophy as "modern" with respect to endodontics and vital pulp therapy (VPT). When did science replace clinical opinions about saving pulps through VPT? How have different philosophies developed over decades with respect to VPT? What is the current "modern" philosophy of VPT and how much has the clinical success rate improved?
This presentation will focus on the various factors that will determine whether the FREQUENCY of VPT will become a first level consideration among dentists, both generalists and specialists for the treatment of diseases of the pulp. The VPT success rates are currently high for pulps with a clinical diagnosis of both reversible and irreversible pulpitis. What developments in the future will further improve the prognosis? VPT is more than a pulp cap or pulpotomy or a material. VPT incorporates a philosophy of treatment and a strict process to be followed.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the history of the development of the Vital Pulp Therapy philosophy as it exists today.
Define the detailed process of Vital Pulp Therapy and recognize the importance of each step.
Describe how the process of working with the insurance industry and organized dentistry will be necessary to affect the changes necessary to insure the success of VPT as a primary treatment philosophy.